long shot
Meaning: Something unlikely to succeed or happen; a bet or venture with very poor odds.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Category: Daily Life
Origin: From marksmanship: a shot aimed at a distant target is inherently less likely to hit than a close one.
More idioms — Daily Life
- land in someone's lap — Something desirable comes to someone without effort or expectation on their part.
- out of spoons — Exhausted of energy or resources, usually mental or emotional.
- thrash out — To discuss and resolve a contentious issue thoroughly through frank dialogue.
- play Cupid — To act as a matchmaker by trying to bring two people together romantically.
- cut a rug — To dance with energy and style, particularly in early twentieth-century jazz or swing sty…
- hang upon — To be deeply absorbed in or emotionally dependent on someone or something.
More English idioms
- see with half an eye — To perceive something obvious with very little effort or attention.
- mugged by reality — To experience a sudden, brutal confrontation with harsh truth after living in comfortable…
- plow the sands — To expend great effort on something completely futile or worthless.
- loaded for bear — Fully prepared and equipped, mentally and materially, to face a difficult challenge or co…
- have someone's guts for garters — To punish someone severely, especially with angry or violent reprimand.
- spin one's wheels — To work hard without making any real progress toward a goal.
From our tongue twisters
- How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? — A 'w/ch/ck' drill that accelerates comically — and nobody really knows the answer.
- The sixth sick sheikh's sixth sheep's sick. — Believed by Guinness to be among the hardest in English — 'six/sick/sheikh/sheep' blur in…
- Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter's bitter. — A 'b / t / tt' plosive drill that bounces between Betty, butter, and bitter.